In the two and a half centuries before the Black Death of 1349, Wales underwent economic, social, and ecclesiastical changes arguably more profound and far-reaching than any it experienced prior to ...
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In the two and a half centuries before the Black Death of 1349, Wales underwent economic, social, and ecclesiastical changes arguably more profound and far-reaching than any it experienced prior to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Methodism. The extent and character of those changes have tended to be underestimated for several reasons. One such reason is that the clatter of battle and conquest has so engaged the attention of the historian, as indeed it did that of contemporary annalists and chroniclers, that it diverts attention from the much less obtrusive and slow-moving changes within society. All medieval societies were localized; few more so than medieval Wales. Such hints of change as survive are, therefore, of their nature fragmentary and localized. No Domesday Book or foreign trade statistics survive, as in England.Less

Introduction

R. R. Davies

Published in print: 2000-09-07

In the two and a half centuries before the Black Death of 1349, Wales underwent economic, social, and ecclesiastical changes arguably more profound and far-reaching than any it experienced prior to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Methodism. The extent and character of those changes have tended to be underestimated for several reasons. One such reason is that the clatter of battle and conquest has so engaged the attention of the historian, as indeed it did that of contemporary annalists and chroniclers, that it diverts attention from the much less obtrusive and slow-moving changes within society. All medieval societies were localized; few more so than medieval Wales. Such hints of change as survive are, therefore, of their nature fragmentary and localized. No Domesday Book or foreign trade statistics survive, as in England.

The evidence from Wisbech Barton broadly supports the notion that the quarter century after the Black Death witnessed an ‘Indian summer’ for demesne farming, for the rural economy here was ...
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The evidence from Wisbech Barton broadly supports the notion that the quarter century after the Black Death witnessed an ‘Indian summer’ for demesne farming, for the rural economy here was surprisingly buoyant. However, it also suggests that the implications of this metaphor can be misleading. Farm officials faced significant economic and environmental difficulties, not least a more grudging workforce and severe flooding. Moreover, reeves worked with great skill to overcome these and other problems, and implemented considerable change in order to ensure economic success. In order to achieve a high net income it was often necessary to reduce the costs of cultivation, whether through operational changes, such as substituting customary for hired labour or grazing livestock on marshland rather than demesne grassland, or by reducing inputs. Falling yields of corn, hay, and livestock were often again the result of a series of deliberate and rational decisions.Less

The ‘Indian Summer’ for Demesne Farming

David Stone

Published in print: 2005-09-29

The evidence from Wisbech Barton broadly supports the notion that the quarter century after the Black Death witnessed an ‘Indian summer’ for demesne farming, for the rural economy here was surprisingly buoyant. However, it also suggests that the implications of this metaphor can be misleading. Farm officials faced significant economic and environmental difficulties, not least a more grudging workforce and severe flooding. Moreover, reeves worked with great skill to overcome these and other problems, and implemented considerable change in order to ensure economic success. In order to achieve a high net income it was often necessary to reduce the costs of cultivation, whether through operational changes, such as substituting customary for hired labour or grazing livestock on marshland rather than demesne grassland, or by reducing inputs. Falling yields of corn, hay, and livestock were often again the result of a series of deliberate and rational decisions.

This chapter explores the associations that accrue to certain categories through their repeated use in particular contexts by influential cultural discourses. It argues that use of the categories ...
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This chapter explores the associations that accrue to certain categories through their repeated use in particular contexts by influential cultural discourses. It argues that use of the categories ‘virgin’ and ‘widow’ in a widely disseminated religious discourse about chastity means that the categories often carry with them associations of chastity, which could influence their use in other discourses, even when chastity is not an overt concern. Femme sole has specific meaning as a legal construct in late medieval England and these associations might similarly imprint themselves on the term and its Latin and Middle English variants, even when the legal construct itself is not being intentionally evoked. The chapter also reviews the arguments about how marriage and thus non-marriage was affected by demographic and economic changes after the Black Death, and whether this had some bearing on the use of the category ‘single woman’ in contemporary texts.Less

Classification in Cultural Context

Cordelia Beattie

Published in print: 2007-09-13

This chapter explores the associations that accrue to certain categories through their repeated use in particular contexts by influential cultural discourses. It argues that use of the categories ‘virgin’ and ‘widow’ in a widely disseminated religious discourse about chastity means that the categories often carry with them associations of chastity, which could influence their use in other discourses, even when chastity is not an overt concern. Femme sole has specific meaning as a legal construct in late medieval England and these associations might similarly imprint themselves on the term and its Latin and Middle English variants, even when the legal construct itself is not being intentionally evoked. The chapter also reviews the arguments about how marriage and thus non-marriage was affected by demographic and economic changes after the Black Death, and whether this had some bearing on the use of the category ‘single woman’ in contemporary texts.

This chapter examines York and the regional economy in the later Middle Ages. It attempts to reconstruct the occupational structure of the community from poll tax and franchise evidence and considers ...
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This chapter examines York and the regional economy in the later Middle Ages. It attempts to reconstruct the occupational structure of the community from poll tax and franchise evidence and considers how this may have changed from the 14th to the early 16th century. The one feature of special significance is the demographic recession following the Black Death. This had implications for the supply of labour, the demand for goods and services, and the structure of both urban and rural economies. The latter part of the chapter reviews the pattern of economic development nationally. It aims to establish a general framework which the detailed evidence specifically to women in both town and country may be understood.Less

York and the Regional Economy in the Later Middle Ages

P. J. P. Goldberg

Published in print: 1992-01-10

This chapter examines York and the regional economy in the later Middle Ages. It attempts to reconstruct the occupational structure of the community from poll tax and franchise evidence and considers how this may have changed from the 14th to the early 16th century. The one feature of special significance is the demographic recession following the Black Death. This had implications for the supply of labour, the demand for goods and services, and the structure of both urban and rural economies. The latter part of the chapter reviews the pattern of economic development nationally. It aims to establish a general framework which the detailed evidence specifically to women in both town and country may be understood.

This chapter examines population movements. Migration in search of employment, particularly by the young and unmarried, was a characteristic feature of pre-industrial society. Evidence of merchets ...
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This chapter examines population movements. Migration in search of employment, particularly by the young and unmarried, was a characteristic feature of pre-industrial society. Evidence of merchets suggests that a high rate of marital exogamy was normal in medieval England and many women left their native communities to live with their husbands. Between 1399 and 1416, despite a very high rate of turnover among tenants between rentals, women tenants considerably outnumbered men. Thereafter, the sexes tended to be more evenly divided, though males outnumber females in most years.Less

Moving to Town

P. J. P. Goldberg

Published in print: 1992-01-10

This chapter examines population movements. Migration in search of employment, particularly by the young and unmarried, was a characteristic feature of pre-industrial society. Evidence of merchets suggests that a high rate of marital exogamy was normal in medieval England and many women left their native communities to live with their husbands. Between 1399 and 1416, despite a very high rate of turnover among tenants between rentals, women tenants considerably outnumbered men. Thereafter, the sexes tended to be more evenly divided, though males outnumber females in most years.

This chapter discusses the assessments of the number of scholars at Oxford. It also investigates the rate of mortality among scholars caused by subsequent plagues. It examines the requirements, ...
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This chapter discusses the assessments of the number of scholars at Oxford. It also investigates the rate of mortality among scholars caused by subsequent plagues. It examines the requirements, particularly the fees necessary for admission into the university, as well as the assistance that churchmen may have offered students. It also discusses the experiences faced by poor scholars. This chapter talks about the employment positions available for the graduates of Oxford during the fourteenth to fifteenth century.Less

The Number, Origins and Careers of Scholars

T.A.R. Evans

Published in print: 1992-12-17

This chapter discusses the assessments of the number of scholars at Oxford. It also investigates the rate of mortality among scholars caused by subsequent plagues. It examines the requirements, particularly the fees necessary for admission into the university, as well as the assistance that churchmen may have offered students. It also discusses the experiences faced by poor scholars. This chapter talks about the employment positions available for the graduates of Oxford during the fourteenth to fifteenth century.

York was one of the most important cities in medieval England. This original study traces the development of the city from the Norman Conquest to the Black Death. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries ...
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York was one of the most important cities in medieval England. This original study traces the development of the city from the Norman Conquest to the Black Death. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries are a neglected period in the history of English towns. This study argues that the period was absolutely fundamental to the development of urban society and that up to now we have misunderstood the reasons for the development of York and its significance within our history because of that neglect. This study argues that the first Norman kings attempted to turn the city into a true northern capital of their new kingdom and had a much more significant impact on the development of the city than has previously been realized. Nevertheless the influence of York Minster, within whose shadow the town had originally developed, remained strong and was instrumental in the emergence of a strong and literate civic communal government in the later twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Many of the earlier Norman initiatives withered as the citizens developed their own institutions of government and social welfare. The primary sources used are records of property ownership and administration, especially charters, and combines these with archaeological evidence from the last thirty years. Much of the emphasis of the book is therefore on the topographical development of the city and the changing social and economic structures associated with property ownership and occupation.Less

York : The Making of a City 1068-1350

Sarah Rees Jones

Published in print: 2013-10-24

York was one of the most important cities in medieval England. This original study traces the development of the city from the Norman Conquest to the Black Death. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries are a neglected period in the history of English towns. This study argues that the period was absolutely fundamental to the development of urban society and that up to now we have misunderstood the reasons for the development of York and its significance within our history because of that neglect. This study argues that the first Norman kings attempted to turn the city into a true northern capital of their new kingdom and had a much more significant impact on the development of the city than has previously been realized. Nevertheless the influence of York Minster, within whose shadow the town had originally developed, remained strong and was instrumental in the emergence of a strong and literate civic communal government in the later twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Many of the earlier Norman initiatives withered as the citizens developed their own institutions of government and social welfare. The primary sources used are records of property ownership and administration, especially charters, and combines these with archaeological evidence from the last thirty years. Much of the emphasis of the book is therefore on the topographical development of the city and the changing social and economic structures associated with property ownership and occupation.

This chapter focuses on the owners and tenants of urban property. It analyses the gendered characteristics of the property market as well as the changing value of property prices and rents and their ...
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This chapter focuses on the owners and tenants of urban property. It analyses the gendered characteristics of the property market as well as the changing value of property prices and rents and their variation between neighbourhoods and over time. It examines the role that property played in the creation of families through sustaining matrimonial alliances as much as patrilineal dynastic descent. It argues that throughout the period when rented properties are recorded (primarily after 1300) female-headed households were a significant and constant feature of the urban property market in York. The only significant change after 1360 was a decline in the average amounts of rent they paid compared to male-headed households. Thus many of the social characteristics relating to female independence that have been claimed as resulting from the impact of plague need to be reassessed.Less

Domestic Property

Sarah Rees Jones

Published in print: 2013-10-24

This chapter focuses on the owners and tenants of urban property. It analyses the gendered characteristics of the property market as well as the changing value of property prices and rents and their variation between neighbourhoods and over time. It examines the role that property played in the creation of families through sustaining matrimonial alliances as much as patrilineal dynastic descent. It argues that throughout the period when rented properties are recorded (primarily after 1300) female-headed households were a significant and constant feature of the urban property market in York. The only significant change after 1360 was a decline in the average amounts of rent they paid compared to male-headed households. Thus many of the social characteristics relating to female independence that have been claimed as resulting from the impact of plague need to be reassessed.

This chapter discusses the characteristics of cuisine in the countryside. The composition of the peasant diet in the later Middle Ages is well known to historians, with its emphasis on cereals, ...
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This chapter discusses the characteristics of cuisine in the countryside. The composition of the peasant diet in the later Middle Ages is well known to historians, with its emphasis on cereals, particularly the poorer grains such as rye, barley, and oats; a limited amount of livestock, giving both some dairy produce and small amounts of meat, especially pork; and the benefits of gardens, at least for some. While there is a marked improvement in diet with the changes to the economy that followed the Black Death in, for example, the provision for harvest workers, many of the time-honoured components of peasant diet remained important. In the highly moral world of the later Middle Ages, with its condemnation of excess, softness, carnal pleasures and luxurious foods, there was virtue to be found in a simple peasant diet.Less

Cooking in the Countryside

C. M. Woolgar

Published in print: 2016-04-26

This chapter discusses the characteristics of cuisine in the countryside. The composition of the peasant diet in the later Middle Ages is well known to historians, with its emphasis on cereals, particularly the poorer grains such as rye, barley, and oats; a limited amount of livestock, giving both some dairy produce and small amounts of meat, especially pork; and the benefits of gardens, at least for some. While there is a marked improvement in diet with the changes to the economy that followed the Black Death in, for example, the provision for harvest workers, many of the time-honoured components of peasant diet remained important. In the highly moral world of the later Middle Ages, with its condemnation of excess, softness, carnal pleasures and luxurious foods, there was virtue to be found in a simple peasant diet.

Chapter six traces the reform efforts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, which eventually led to the consolidation of small independent hospitals into large civic institutions that became ...
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Chapter six traces the reform efforts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, which eventually led to the consolidation of small independent hospitals into large civic institutions that became increasingly medicalized. Health boards created after the Black Death led to secularization of health care and poor relief. These social service institutions evolved over the early decades of the century and were a gradual response to the evolving needs and challenges of the population and the end of the communal era. This unification and institutionalization of civic oriented hospital care, resulted in one large Ospedale Maggiore, which was duplicated in towns and cities throughout Italy in the mid fifteenth century. It signified the end of the small, independent hospital movement that had so transformed the landscape of urban society earlier in the Middle Ages. The process of centralization that swept hospitals up in its wake was a universal feature of Italian state-formation in the age of the RenaissanceLess

Reform and consolidation

Sally Mayall Brasher

Published in print: 2017-07-30

Chapter six traces the reform efforts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, which eventually led to the consolidation of small independent hospitals into large civic institutions that became increasingly medicalized. Health boards created after the Black Death led to secularization of health care and poor relief. These social service institutions evolved over the early decades of the century and were a gradual response to the evolving needs and challenges of the population and the end of the communal era. This unification and institutionalization of civic oriented hospital care, resulted in one large Ospedale Maggiore, which was duplicated in towns and cities throughout Italy in the mid fifteenth century. It signified the end of the small, independent hospital movement that had so transformed the landscape of urban society earlier in the Middle Ages. The process of centralization that swept hospitals up in its wake was a universal feature of Italian state-formation in the age of the Renaissance